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TRUMP SIDES WITH SUNNIS

Day: May 22, 2017

Presidential Gunrunner Changes Tune

Mohammed was able to unite the tribes of Arabia through religious doctrine and force, while Donald Trump, no Mohammed indeed, was able to drive a firmer wedge between the Sunni and Shia believers with one trip to the Middle East.

His vitriol against Iran deployed the old philosophy, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. To the tune of billions of dollars in armaments and technology, the Royal Saud family secured Donald Trump’s loyalty.

To be fair, this is no different than what the former CIA Director and President George H.W. Bush saw was the method to have “normal” relations with most of the Arabs in the area. The US President has always had to deal with kings and dictators to keep the wheels of diplomacy and industry rolling. Stated more directly, Saudi Arabia has oil and we have weapons and great software.

In Donald Trump’s speech to the gathered tribes and countries of the Muslim faith, he failed to comprehend the nature of Islamic banking. For someone who has spread his footprint around the world, Trump’s naïveté on the way the money flows from legitimate sources to the terror groups is astounding. His state department experts could have told him that the men listening to his speech Sunday in Riyadh have no idea what the Islamic banks do with their money because those banks are under no government’s reach. This is how Mohammed wanted it.

Hats off, no pun intended, to the First Lady and Daughter Ivanka for not covering their heads while in a Muslim country, but then, First Lady Obama already blazed that trail. It was interesting how Trump’s daughter might have made a statement in Saudi Arabia, but then covered her head in Israel. So, noted.

Donald J. Trump, who called for the ban on all people coming from Muslim nations, was much more tempered when facing the force of dozens of Islamic nations sitting before him. He didn’t use the term “radical Islamic terrorism” out of respect for the religion. Wow, how he adjusts his act to his audience. When he gets to Israel he will don a yarmulke so not to offend. When did he become so politically and socially correct? What will his base think?

The trip to Saudi Arabia will no doubt improve Trump’s ratings, but while he is away, the plot against him continues in the States. Watching him look so presidential, with no damaging tweets this week, will he learn from this trip? Like someone on vacation without a care and with loads of procedural respect dished out and obviously patronizing anointment from the hosting countries, he shouldn’t let it go to his head. Trump will find the trip less positive toward the end.

He has to face the holy pontiff in the Vatican. The Pope will not kiss his ring or give him a gold necklace. He will ask hard questions about South Americans, walls and what have you done for the poor?

With the big NATO meeting and the G7 Economic Summit in Italy, Trump will find less adoration and more hard questions. For now, he leaves Saudi Arabia with the feeling of success, but with a hard road ahead.

People in America don’t care about whether the Sunnis and Shia hate each other; that has been going on for 1,400 years. What America sees on TV this week will probably fool some into believing that this man of orange has a plan for America.

Peace in the Middle East and deals for bombs won’t give the US a better healthcare system. Trump having lavish banquets abroad will not produce a fairer tax plan for the citizens of this country. But he did say we would get tired of winning. The hype is painful.